Am I a Bad Person...

Does not wanting to watch the "Hope for Haiti" telethons make me a bad person? I tried watching the "Canada for Haiti" telethon, but it was so dull I couldn't stand it. The band that came on was pretty lousy, although I admit that they were probably just not my thing and others may have enjoyed them. But the banter from the hosts was simply exhausting. I have no idea what Ben Mulroney was talking about at one point, but he'd have been better served piping down and letting Rachel McAdams speak up. And the less said about Brent Butt's pre-taped "comedy bit" the better. I figured by pledging I did my part though, and now I'm watching the Simpsons and Justice League with relatively little guilt. Barely more than I usually have hanging over me.

But still, does not watching it make me a bad person? Probably. I'm not though.

Y'know What's Funny?

I think I really enjoy Patrick Stewart in a way that has nothing to do with Star Trek. It's not that I've never seen an episode of it or that I didn't enjoy the show I suppose, but I don't think any of my fondness for the man has anything to do with that. Curiously I'm probably more indifferent than anything when it comes Star Trek (or rather Star Trek: The Next Generation -- figured I ought to be clear on that one since there's a half dozen different 'Treks out there). I say curiously since I can usually get into stuff like that with all of the mythology and continuity and all that, but when I see it's on TV I try to see what's going on, but I usually wind up flipping the channel within minutes. Might have something to do with the whole "reset button" they hit at the end of every show preventing change and development, might have something to do with the fact I already saw most of the episodes back when I was 10. Or alternately, maybe it just seems like I've seen every show.

Anyway, what was my point before I started ripping on Star Trek: The Next Generation? Yeah, so I caught a rerun of Extras the other day, and it was the episode with Patrick Stewart and the bit where he describes the script he'd written. Check out the clip to see what I'm talking about -- it was probably my favorite bit of the whole run of the show. Besides that, the man was the perfect Professor X (and he reprised the role in several X-Men video games, which is pretty neat too), and he's doing good work on American Dad, even if I enjoyed his guest shot on Family Guy with the Star Trek cast more than anything I've seen him do on that show. But probably better than either of those was his guest shot on the Simpsons back in the day, where he played the Stonecutters Number One. Just thinking of him saying stuff like "Let's all get drunk and play ping pong", "Settle down, Moe", and "The "paddling of the swollen ass"... with paddles", makes me chuckle.


So yeah, the man's likability with me curiously has nothing to do with the career defining role that put him on the map, but rather his other best know genre role and a series of animated voice-overs that've played off his distinguished nature and voice.

Hm. When I realized this would make adequate fodder for a blog post I guess I figured I'd have more to say about that, or at least that the little I would have to say would be slightly more interesting. At least the clips were funny, I guess.

Feeling Nice and Mellow Today

Not much to say, but I'm enjoying the sun today, sitting back with some nice reading material, drinking some coffee, and leaving the TV on in the background with Saturday afternoon's constant stream of "Seinfeld", "Simpsons", "Family Guy", and "Daily Show".

Really, a perfect lazy Saturday. Nice and mellow.

"The Simpsons" on Election '08

Funny, but wouldn't Homer have voted for McCain. Come on, an easily impressed "Joe-Sixpack" with conservative values who once bought several copies of an album because he was warned if he didn't "Al Qaeda would win"? This is from the upcoming Halloween special though, so you can chalk it up to the fact things are generally askew in those episodes.

On another note, despite my (some would say fervent) interest in the 2008 US election, I'm pleased to say that I've arguably spent more time following my own national election than I have before. Not enough to bother blogging about it or anything, but more than I've spent the last few times I've voted. Why I even watched a few minutes of one of our debates before tuning out because it was in french.

(And don't get mad for the Joe-sixpack bit -- I borrowed it from Sarah Palin.)

The Most Perfect Minute of Television...

It starts part-way through The Simpsons episode "The Itchy and Scratchy Movie" with the scene of Bart and Homer eating popsicles outside the house while Homer explains how he avoided jury duty ("The trick is to say you're prejudiced against all races"), and ends with Marge asking if Homer wants Bart to "become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court or a sleazy male stripper?". To which he replies, "can't he be both, like the late Earl Warren?".

Probably the most perfect minute of television you're going to find.